Associative data storage system for collectable objects

ABSTRACT

A data storage device for use in combination with at least one collectable object is described. The data storage device is formed detached from the collectable object. The collectable object is provided with tamper resistant visual markings. And, the data storage device is provided with tamper resistant visual markings associative with the visual markings of the collectable object so as to provide association of the data storage device with the collectable object. The data storage device is compatible with a standard computer system to provide a user with at least one predetermined characteristic of the collectable object with or without an external database.

REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/493,312 filed on Jul. 26, 2006, by the inventor herein,entitled PROTECTION, AUTHENTICATION, IDENTIFICATION DEVICE FOR ACOLLECTABLE OBJECT.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the certification, authentication,identification and marketing of collectable objects such as coins,stamps, currency and baseball cards.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

An industry for authentication, identification and certification ofcollectables has gained market prominence and certification companiessuch as the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) and the NumismaticGuaranty Corporation (NGC) have developed protective collectable holdersto protect collectable objects such as coins, stamps, currency, andbaseball cards. They encapsulate the collectable object in a holder andprovide a professional opinion for condition and authenticity. Theholder is designed to be small and portable which necessitates a smalllabel with visual markings that only allow for minimal marking space andinformation about the collectable object. Often times the owner wouldhave a need to utilize an image of the collectable object for visualidentification of the collectable object and further validation ofcertification authentication of that specific collectable object. Theowner could also utilize the image of the collectable object formarketing purposes including auction and Internet sales, insurancerecords, and documentation of a collectables collection. In addition,the owner or buyer of a collectable object may want to know informationrelative to the collectable object such as historical information,collectable valuations, condition populations and other relevantinformation of that particular collectable object. Applicant believes anassociative data storage system for collectable objects willsignificantly improve deficiencies with the current collectablescertification industry.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention involves a data storage device for use incombination with at least one collectable object. The data storagedevice is formed detached from the collectable object. The collectableobject is provided with tamper resistant visual markings. The datastorage device is provided with tamper resistant visual markingsassociative with the visual markings of the collectable object toprovide association of the data storage device with the collectableobject. The data storage device is compatible with a standard computersystem to provide a user with at least one predetermined characteristicof the collectable object, with or without the use of an externaldatabase. In some embodiments, for example, the collectable object is acoin.

Recognizing the need for an improved authentication, identification andmarketing device for collectable objects, the following objectives areconsidered:

It is an important objective of the present invention that it mayprovide for a portable holder that provides protection for valuablecollectable objects such as coins, stamps, baseball cards, currency,autographs, etc.

It is another important objective of the present invention that it mayprovide for a holder of a collectable object that has tamper resistantvisual markings of the collectable object.

It is another important objective of the present invention that it mayprovide for a separate, detached data storage device that has tamperresistant, associative visual markings of the collectable object, so asto provide association of the data storage device with the collectableobject.

It is another important objective of the present invention that the datastorage device may be compatible with a standard computer system.

It is another important objective of the present invention that it mayprovide a user with a data storage device that stores at least onedigital image and/or at least one characteristic of a collectable objectthat can be viewed by means of a standard computer system, even when thecollectable object is stored in a remote location from the data storagedevice.

It is another important objective of the present invention that it mayprovide for visual identification and authenticity of a collectableobject by providing a means for easily accessing and comparing digitalimage/s of the certified collectable object and/or at least one uniquecharacteristic, for example, strike, luster, color, defects, abrasions,centering, etc., of a collectable coin.

It is another important objective of the present invention that it mayprovide additional characteristics or data of a collectable object, suchas a coin, for example, date of mintage, condition, production mintage,etc.

It is another important objective of the present invention that it mayprovide storage or access to historical information about thecollectable object.

It is another important objective of the present invention that it mayprovide a data storage device for insurance verification and recordsdocumentation of a collectable object.

It is another important objective of the present invention that it maybe linkable with an external database by means of a Hyperlink that itmay provide the user with additional or corresponding information of acollectable object, for example, the certified population and currentvaluation of a coin, stamp, baseball card, etc.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a right front perspective, exploded view of a collectableobject combined with means of tamper resistant visual markings.

FIG. 2 shows a right front perspective, exploded view of a data storagedevice combined with means of tamper resistant visual markings.

FIG. 3 shows a right front perspective view of an embodiment of thepresent invention, which includes the example components shown in FIGS.1 and 2, with each component being marked with tamper resistantassociative markings.

FIG. 4 shows a right front perspective view of a present invention datastorage device used in combination with a collectable object being acoin. In this embodiment a separate housing is formed to house both thedata storage device and the collectable object.

FIG. 5 shows a diagram of a present invention associative data storagedevice used in combination with a collectable object being a coin, and,an interface with a traditional computer system having Internetcapability.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to the drawings which are for the purpose of illustratingpreferred embodiments of the present invention and are not for thepurpose of limiting same,

FIG. 1 shows a right front perspective, exploded view of a collectableobject combined with means of tamper resistant visual markings. Acollectable object provided with tamper resistant visual markings is acomponent of the present invention. A second component, a data storagedevice with tamper resistant visual markings, is illustrated anddiscussed in FIG. 2. FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a collectableobject provided with tamper resistant visual markings 10. Coin 11 isillustrated only as a generic example of a collectable object, such as acoin. Other collectable objects such as stamps, currency, or baseballcards are additional examples of collectable objects that would also beapplicable to the present invention. Furthermore, larger collectableobjects, such as collectable automobiles and antiques would also beapplicable to the present invention. Label 5 is an example of a methodthat may provide visual markings of a collectable object, such as coin11. Visual markings of coin 11 may include associative characteristicsof coin 11, and may include collectable object descriptors, such as thedate, the denomination, and a certification grade of coin 11. Thecertification grade of coin 11 refers to the condition grade of coin 11as determined by a grading certification service. Coin 11 is providedwith tamper resistant visual markings such as markings 7 and 9 shown.Markings 7 and 9 are protected by means of a tamper resistant holdercomprised of an upper housing 3 and a lower housing 17, which encloseand protect coin 11 and label 5 with markings 7 and 9 as shown. A“holder” shall mean a device that holds at least one object. “Tamperresistant” shall mean resists alteration or disassembly. An example ofsuch a tamper resistant holder, may be comprised of an upper housing 3,and a lower housing 17 that are formed to enclose and protect coin 11,and label 5. The holder may be made of a clear plastic, e.g., acrylic,and is designed to be tamper resistant by providing a means that willmake it difficult for a user or owner to disassemble the holder once ithas been assembled. This may be accomplished for example, by a methodthat securely bonds upper housing 3 and lower housing 17 together, suchas ultrasonic welding of the plastic mating surfaces during an assemblyprocess. An Inner structure, such as core component 15 may be used tohold coin 11 and label 5 to resist movement within the holder after theassembly process. Core component 15 may be comprised of a plasticmaterial and holds coin 11 by means of a cut-through opening 13 andallows viewing of the front (obverse) and rear (reverse) of coin 11.Label 5 may also have an encoded barcode 9, and when read by anappropriate barcode reader device may provide additional characteristicsof coin 11 and may also corroborate the visual markings of label 5.

FIG. 2 shows a right front perspective, exploded view of a data storagedevice combined with means of tamper resistant visual markings. Datastorage device with tamper resistant visual markings 20 is used incombination with at least one collectable object also provided withtamper resistant visual markings (discussed in FIG. 1), and is detachedfrom the collectable object. Data storage device with tamper resistantvisual markings 20 may be comprised of a data storage device 29, a label27 that provides a method for displaying visual markings 23, and atamper resistant means to protect visual markings 23 and 25. Visualmarkings 23 and 25 are associative with the visual markings of thedetached corresponding collectable object so to provide association ofthe data storage device with the collectable object. Tamper resistantvisual markings may be provided for by means of a tamper resistantholder. An example of such a tamper resistant holder, may be comprisedof an upper housing 21, and a lower housing 31 that are formed toenclose and protect label 27 as shown. The holder may be made of a clearplastic, such as acrylic, and may be designed to be tamper resistant byproviding a means that will make it difficult for a user to disassemblethe holder once it has been assembled. This may be accomplished forexample, by a method that securely bonds upper housing 21 and lowerhousing 31 together, such as ultrasonic welding of the plastic matingsurfaces during an assembly process. Label 27 may provide a means fordisplaying associative visual markings of a collectable object, such asa coin, and may be displayed as collectable object descriptors, such asthe date, the denomination, and a certification grade of the associatedcollectable object. Data storage device 29, such as a USB Flash Drive,which is illustrated as an example for use in the present invention forit's compact size, and non-volatile memory (NVM) capability. However,many other examples of data storage devices could also be used such as aFlash Memory Card, PC Card, Memory Card, MultiMedia Card, Secure DigitalCard, Memory Stick, xD-Picture Card and other compact sized, solid-statedata storage devices. Additionally, a Radio Frequency Identification(RFID) data storage device could also be utilized with the presentinvention. For data security reasons, the data storage device 29 maycomprise a Read-Only-Memory (ROM) condition that is immutable and mayprevent a user from altering or erasing the data of the data storagedevice 29. “Immutable” shall mean data that is highly resistant tochange or alteration. Data storage device 29 is used in combination ofat least one collectable object, being formed detached from thecollectable object, and storing data of at least one characteristic ofthe collectable object. Data storage device 29 is compatible with astandard computer system so it may provide a user with at least onecharacteristic of a collectable object, such as a coin, and may comprisedata such as digital images of the coin, the date of minting, theproduction mintage, and condition certification grade. The digitalimages of the collectable object may provide authentication andidentification of the unique characteristics of the collectable object(coin) such as, strike, luster, color, defects, abrasions, centering,date, mintmark, die variations, etc. Additional information such ashistorical information that is associated with the collectable coin mayalso be stored. Data storage device 29 may also contain predeterminedexternal database links, such as the certification service's privatenetwork, which may be in the form of Internet Hyperlinks, that alsoprovide predetermined characteristics of the collectable coin, and/orother data, such as the current certification population and currentvaluation of the coin. Label 27 may also have a barcode 25, and whenread by an appropriate barcode reader may also provide predeterminedcharacteristics of the associated collectable object by means of anappropriate barcode reader device.

FIG. 3 shows a right front perspective view of an embodiment of thepresent invention, which includes the example components shown in FIGS.1 and 2, with each component being marked with tamper resistantassociative markings. FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the presentinvention 50, which is comprised of a collectable object provided withtamper resistant visual markings 10, and a data storage device withtamper resistant visual markings 20.

FIG. 4 shows a right front perspective view of a present invention datastorage device used in combination with a collectable object being acoin. In this embodiment a separate housing is formed to house both thedata storage device and the collectable object. FIG. 4 shows anembodiment of the present invention, that is comprised of a collectableobject with tamper resistant visual markings 10, and a data storagedevice with tamper resistant visual markings 20. They are shown beingcapable of stored in the same holder 70. A collectable object providedwith tamper resistant visual markings 10 nests in preformed cavity 73 ofstorage holder device 70. Also, a data storage device with tamperresistant visual markings 20 nests in preformed cavity 75 of storageholder device 70.

FIG. 5 shows a diagram of a present invention associative data storagedevice used in combination with a collectable object being a coin, and,an interface with a traditional computer system having Internetcapability. The present invention, associative data storage system forcollectable objects 103 is comprised of a collectable object providedwith tamper resistant visual markings 105, and a data storage devicewith tamper resistant visual markings 107. Data storage device 107 iscompatible with a standard computer system 111 and may display images ofthe corresponding associative collectable object shown here as a coin,and may include additional characteristics of the collectable object,such as, certification data, mintages and production data. Data storagedevice 107 may also provide an Internet link to a predetermined externaldatabase 113. The Internet link may be in the form of a Hyperlink andmay be the certification service's private network. The private networkmay provide additional or similar data, images, and/or characteristicsof a collectable object with tamper resistant visual markings 105. Itmay provide changing information of the collectable object, such as it'scurrent-valuation.

Although illustrative embodiments have been described herein in detail,it should be noted and will be appreciated by those skilled in the artthat numerous variations may be made within the scope of this inventionwithout departing from the principles and chief advantages of thisinvention. Unless otherwise specifically stated, the terms andexpressions have been used herein as terms of description and notlimitation. There is no intention to use the terms or expressions toexclude any equivalents of features shown and described or portionsthereof, and this invention should be defined in accordance with theclaims that follow, or the equivalence thereof.

1. A data storage device for use in combination with at least onecollectable object; said data storage device being formed detached fromsaid collectable object and storing data of at least one predeterminedcharacteristic of said collectable object, said collectable object beingprovided with tamper resistant visual markings, said data storage devicebeing provided with tamper resistant visual markings associative withthe visual markings of said collectable object so as to provideassociation of said data storage device with said collectable object,and, said data storage device being compatible with a standard computersystem to provide a user with at least one predetermined characteristicof said collectable object.
 2. A data storage device of claim 1, whereinsaid collectable object has more than one predetermined characteristicthereof, and, said data storage device comprises data of more than onepredetermined characteristic of said collectable object.
 3. A datastorage device of claim 1, wherein said data storage device stores dataof at least one digital image of the collectible object so as to assista user in authentication of said collectable object.
 4. A data storagedevice of claim 1, wherein at least one collectable object is held in aholder that provides said tamper resistant visual markings of saidcollectable object.
 5. A data storage device of claim 1, wherein saiddata storage device is detachably held in a holder, and, saidcollectable object is held in the same holder as the data storage deviceis held.
 6. A data storage device of claim 1, wherein, said data storagedevice is a solid-state Flash Memory storage device.
 7. A data storagedevice of claim 1, wherein, said data storage device is a RadioFrequency Identification device (RFID).
 8. A data storage device ofclaim 1, wherein the collectable object and the data storage device areboth provided with visual markings that are encoded.
 9. A data storagedevice of claim 1, wherein said collectible object is a coin.
 10. A datastorage device of claim 9, wherein said data storage device comprisespredetermined characteristics of said coin including at least its date,condition and mintage.
 11. A data storage device for use in combinationwith at least one collectable object; said data storage device beingformed detached from said collectable object, said collectable objectbeing provided with tamper resistant visual markings, said data storagedevice being provided with tamper resistant visual markings associativewith the visual markings of said collectable object so as to provideassociation of said data storage device with said collectable object,and, said data storage device being connectable with a predeterminedexternal database via a standard computer system to provide a user withat least one predetermined characteristic of said collectable object.12. A data storage device of claim 11, wherein said collectable objecthas more than one predetermined characteristic thereof, and, saidexternal database comprises data of more than one predeterminedcharacteristic of said collectable object.
 13. A data storage device ofclaim 11, wherein said external database stores data of at least onedigital image of the collectible object so as to assist a user inauthentication of said collectable object.
 14. A data storage device ofclaim 11, wherein at least one collectable object is held in a holderthat provides said tamper resistant visual markings of said collectableobject.
 15. A data storage device of claim 11, wherein said data storagedevice is detachably held in a holder, and, said collectable object isalso held in the same holder as the data storage device is held.
 16. Adata storage device of claim 11, wherein, said data storage device is asolid-state Flash Memory storage device.
 17. A data storage device ofclaim 11, wherein, said data storage device is a Radio FrequencyIdentification device (RFID).
 18. A data storage device of claim 11,wherein the collectable object and the data storage device are bothprovided with visual markings that are encoded.
 19. A data storagedevice of claim 11, wherein said predetermined external database isaccessed via a UNIFORM RESOURCE LOCATOR (URL).
 20. A data storage deviceof claim 11, wherein said collectible object is a coin, and, saidexternal database comprises predetermined characteristics of said coinincluding at least its date, condition, mintage, population andvaluation.
 21. A data storage device for use in combination with atleast one collectable object; said data storage device being formeddetached from said collectable object and storing data of at least onepredetermined characteristic of said collectable object, saidcollectable object being provided with tamper resistant visual markings,said data storage device being provided with tamper resistant visualmarkings associative with the visual markings of said collectable objectso as to provide association of said data storage device with saidcollectable object, and, said data storage device being compatible witha standard computer system to provide a user with at least onepredetermined characteristic of said collectable object, and, said datastorage device being connectable with a predetermined external databasevia said computer system, to provide said user with at least onepredetermined characteristic of said collectable object.
 22. A datastorage device of claim 21, wherein said collectable object has morethan one predetermined characteristic thereof, and, said data storagedevice comprises data of more than one predetermined characteristic ofsaid collectable object.
 23. A data storage device of claim 21, whereinsaid collectable object has more than one predetermined characteristicthereof, and, said external database comprises data of more than onepredetermined characteristic of said collectable object.
 24. A datastorage device of claim 21, wherein said data storage device stores dataof at least one digital image of the collectible object so as to assista user in authentication of said collectable object.
 25. A data storagedevice of claim 21, wherein said external database stores data of atleast one digital image of the collectible object so as to assist a userin authentication of said collectable object.
 26. A data storage deviceof claim 21, wherein the at least one collectable object is held in aholder that provides said tamper resistant visual markings of saidcollectable object.
 27. A data storage device of claim 21, wherein saiddata storage device is detachably held in a holder, and, saidcollectable object is also held in the same holder as the data storagedevice is held.
 28. A data storage device of claim 21, wherein, saiddata storage device is a solid-state Flash Memory storage device.
 29. Adata storage device of claim 21, wherein, said data storage device is aRadio Frequency Identification device (RFID).
 30. A data storage deviceof claim 21, wherein the collectable object and the data storage deviceare both provided with visual markings that are encoded.
 31. A datastorage device of claim 21, wherein said predetermined external databaseis accessed via a UNIFORM RESOURCE LOCATOR (URL).
 32. A data storagedevice of claim 21, wherein said collectible object is a coin, and, saidexternal database comprises predetermined characteristics of said coinincluding at least its date, condition, mintage, population andvaluation.